Arranging for Maximum Impact

Song arrangement is as much an art form as writing great music or lyrics. However, as it is inextricably tied up in the songwriting process it is often not seen as a separate skill in and of itself. From a music theory standpoint arranging is the rhythmic and harmonisation (i.e. chord) choices you make to underpin the lyrics and the melody. 
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At one end of the arrangement continuum, a bear minimum arrangement would involve a single instrument such as a piano, and a voice. The other end might involve a full band along with orchestration, i.e. many layers and parts. As we give birth to a song we make decisions about the best ways to present our new collection of words and music. Are there drums? What feel? Guitars? How will they contribute to the whole? There are decisions about ‘parts’, i.e. will the guitar strum the chords or arpeggiate them? Will we cover the main chords with both guitar and keyboard? What paths will they each take? Bass? Etc. etc. These considerations all together make up the arrangement of the song.

Regardless of whether a song finds itself at the minimal or the complex end, your job as the arranger is to create a sympathetic foundation for the lyrics and the melody, the two key elements. The arrangement must create enough interest to keep your listener engaged, while at the same time getting out of the way of these key elements. It can be a tricky balance. The arrangement should help to propel the lyrics along when pace is needed, and it should help to turn on all the spotlights at those significant moments, such as the hook. Of course the lyrics and melody do some of this work as well. A good arrangement works in conjunction with the lyrics and the melody. They’re a team...but the star of the show is the vocal.

I wrote in a previous article about dynamics and their importance in creating great songs. Dynamics are a part of the arrangement toolbox. See the dynamics ideas for a recap on some of the more popular approaches. 

Let’s dive in and have a look at an example song to talk about arrangement. The Arctic Monkeys song, ‘One For the Road’, is, I believe, a great example of a strong arrangement. The music has a story to it as much as the vocal does. The arrangement draws us in. Check it out here:

1. Intro: They hit the hook from the get go. 'One for the road, ooh-ooh'. The vocal, falsetto and washy, with a spring reverb laden staccato guitar line shimmering away behind it. It’s a soft and kind of subtle entry. Hooky as all get-out. Then there’s a clarifying riff on the guitar and bass that drag us out of this dreamy intro and sends us straight into the business of the song. 
2. Verse 1: A strong and simple arrangement. The bass line neatly underpins the vocal which is front and centre. Drums are straight forward, with quarter note hi-hats. The gated reverb on the snare keeps the feel tight. There are occasional guitar trills as little landmarks as we pass through the lyric set-up. It is important to establishing the melody...just sing it...and get all the other stuff out of the way.
3. Chorus 1: Not a big lift. It’s certainly not a traditional chorus, however the shift in vocal rhythmic intensity, along with the ‘ooh-ooh’ backing vocals and more constant guitar trills all add to give the sense of change...and lead us the the hook followed by that sign-post lick that ties it all up and delivers us into verse 2.  Like for verse 1, the first chorus is where you establish the chorus melody for the listener. So let them hear it. 
4. Verse 2: To the verse 1 recipe, we add a staccato muted guitar part (a repeated four note figure), again with truck loads of spring reverb. This builds the intensity. It’s busier than verse 1...we’re in a story that’s going somewhere. There’s a slight drop down at the end for a bar as the drums stop. This allows the second chorus entry to have a little more impact...there’s an anticipation (see the dynamics article).
5. Chorus 2: Much the same as Chorus one. The spacey guitars and the ooh-ooh backing vocals seem to pop out a little more here, that’s a mix thing. It’s subtle. The turnaround riff at the end morphs just a touch at the end and sends us off somewhere new…which is exactly what we were hoping for!
6. Bridge: And just like that, it’s all systems go. The drums are double time (intensity plus...this story is really going somewhere now). ‘The mixture hits ya hard’. There’s a new guitar line, with tremolo (giving it movement). It almost sounds like a big bell ringing. There’s eighth note shakers...pushing us along. ‘Soundtrack to dis-as-ter’...then...
7. Turnaround: Drop down. No drums..back to staccato guitars...the backing vocals from the intro...but in reverse phrase order; ’ooh-ooh, one for the road’. Then intensity builds back again...we’ve recovered. Kick is four on the floor. There's a new guitar line that sits in sync with the kick drum. Then a simple but powerful fill to send us to...
8. Guitar solo: ...and you thought they were dead! \m/, Drums at double time again. Why would you go back? Energy is pumping again.
9. Chorus 3: Drums keep double time...it’s the chorus, but on steriods! The backing vocal part from the turnaround is in there as well…’ooh-ooh, one for the road’ (this is more than in the previous chorus' - they just had the ooh-ooh). All out to the hook and a short descending line to end the song. 

I don't know about you...but I'm hankering for a cigarette after that! 

We could pick a bunch of songs to do this with...it’s a fun and enlightening exercise, especially for songs that you feel really define something in music. Identifying the devices that move a song forward and articulating how they work will help you to grow as a writer / arranger. You can be more intentional with the arrangement choices you make for your songs.

There’s a great series by Rick Beato on YouTube called, ‘What makes this song great?’. Rick gets into a bit of the music theory side of things, as well as the arrangement and production elements that work together for the song in focus. He is a total music nerd, which is awesome. Check him out.

One last bit:
I came across this article the other week. It is an interesting study on a well known song that became a huge hit with it’s fifth artist, and not before. The song was written by none other than Burt Bacharach and Hal David back in the 1960s (it’s an oldie, but a goodie). A collection of well known artists and producers all failed to get this one off the ground. But then a hero, with a new arrangement, came along and the rest is history. Read it here:
https://blog.discmakers.com/2019/09/fifth-times-the-charm-the-carpenters-smash-hit-close-to-you/?utm_campaign=EA1938&utm_source=DMAudio&utm_medium=Email#

What’s a song you think has some great arrangement elements worth talking about? Leave a comment below...let’s talk about music. 

Ready to record sometime soon? Use the ‘Get a Quote’ button to contact me so we can talk about your next project. 

Make good art.

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